Post-Indictment Poll: Donald Trump Holds Enormous Lead over GOP Rivals in Georgia, Ron DeSantis’s Slide Continues

Former President Donald Trump is closing in on 60 percent of support among likely Republican primary voters in Georgia and towers over the rest field, according to a poll taken after his indictment in Fulton County.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll, conducted by the School of Public & International Affairs (SPIA) at the University of Georgia, finds that 57 percent of likely primary voters support Trump for his third consecutive nomination. He gained six points of support since the SPIA’s April poll when he pinged at 51 percent.

Georgia 2024: Trump holds 42-point lead for Republican Nomination

Trump 57% (+7)
DeSantis 15% (-15)
Pence 4% (+2)
Ramaswamy 3%
Scott 3% (+2)
Haley 3% (-1)
Christie 2% (+2)
Suarez 1%

[Change vs April]@ajc / @UGA_SPIA | 807 LV | 8/16-23https://t.co/3MUfPjVS4B pic.twitter.com/7pdGu5FRn6

— InteractivePolls (@IAPolls2022) August 29, 2023

The survey was taken between August 16 and 23 after Fulton County District Attorney Fani Willis’s office secured an indictment against Trump, as well as campaign aides and lawyers, alleging they committed multiple crimes in their challenge of the 2020 election. 

The 45th president sits 42 points ahead of his nearest competitor, Gov. Ron DeSantis (R-FL), who is at 15 percent and has seen his support collapse from when it registered at 30 percent in April’s survey.

No other candidate breaks double digits. Former Vice President Mike Pence takes four percent of the response, followed by entrepreneur Vivek Ramaswamy, former Gov. Nikki Haley (R-SC), and Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC), who tie at three percent apiece. 

From there, two percent support former Gov. Chris Christie (R-NJ), while one percent back Miami Mayor Francis Suarez, who suspended his campaign on Tuesday, and no other candidate garners a percent. Another 14 percent of the respondents are undecided. Of note, Breitbart News rounded each candidate’s total to the nearest decimal point. 

The survey also gauges how serious GOP primary voters perceive Willis’s case against Trump to be, with 31 percent saying “not serious at all.” Another 13 percent say it is “not too serious.” Conversely, 27 percent call the charges very serious,” and 23 percent view them as “somewhat serious.” Seven percent are undecided and did not weigh in. 

RELATED — President Trump Following GA Booking: “We Did Nothing Wrong At All”

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Trump faces 13 charges in the case, including a Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) charge, while the 18 co-defendants were collectively hit with 41 counts. The maximum penalty for Trump in this case, if convicted on all charges, is 76.5 years in prison. He also faces two federal cases headed up by Special Counsel Jack Smith and another in New York State. He has pleaded not guilty in each instance. 

The poll sampled 807 likely GOP primary voters and has a margin of error of ± 3.4 percentage points.